not an arbiter of taste

Thursday, November 16, 2006

The 'Whose dish' contest!

David has an enormous collection of menus from some of the best restaurants in the world. Some of them adorn the walls -in the you know what- at the restaurant while others live a quieter life in a large trunk upstairs. The other day he pulled them out to organize, and to see if there are more we want to frame and put up on show. There are a few of mine in that set by now too, though I must admit they are sort the Johnny come lately's, since I didn't start my collection until just a few years ago.

Looking through these old menus, I got an idea that there's a fun game I can play with you here on my blog. It is said that to be a great chef, one has to be more than just a good cook who could replicate other people's recipes, but one that has a style that is unique to his/her own. Many of these restaurants whose menu we were perusing are famous not merely because they serve great food, but because they have a style that is unique to them. These characteristic styles are often enhanced by the sense of place, the local produce, or we might even say the proverbial terroir.

So, to put this conjecture to a test, and also to test the culinary intelligence of you, my dear readers. I've devised a little contest for us. I'm going to give you twelve menu items, and you have to match them to the corresponding restaurants. But to make it a bit more fun I've decided to give you 15 names of restaurants. So, three of the fifteen are just decoys, you understand? Now, shall we play?

Comments

The 'Whose dish' contest!

David has an enormous collection of menus from some of the best restaurants in the world. Some of them adorn the walls -in the you know what- at the restaurant while others live a quieter life in a large trunk upstairs. The other day he pulled them out to organize, and to see if there are more we want to frame and put up on show. There are a few of mine in that set by now too, though I must admit they are sort the Johnny come lately's, since I didn't start my collection until just a few years ago.

Looking through these old menus, I got an idea that there's a fun game I can play with you here on my blog. It is said that to be a great chef, one has to be more than just a good cook who could replicate other people's recipes, but one that has a style that is unique to his/her own. Many of these restaurants whose menu we were perusing are famous not merely because they serve great food, but because they have a style that is unique to them. These characteristic styles are often enhanced by the sense of place, the local produce, or we might even say the proverbial terroir.

So, to put this conjecture to a test, and also to test the culinary intelligence of you, my dear readers. I've devised a little contest for us. I'm going to give you twelve menu items, and you have to match them to the corresponding restaurants. But to make it a bit more fun I've decided to give you 15 names of restaurants. So, three of the fifteen are just decoys, you understand? Now, shall we play?